Hat protector



June 8, 1940- M. H. FRIEDLER 2,205,062

HAT PROTECTOR Filed March 12, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Inventor MAX H. FI-Z/EDLER June 18, 1940. M H, FRXEDLER 2,205,062

' HAT PROTECTOR Filed March 12, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 fig-i agi- 1 66 Inventor MAX H. F/z/smsxa by A i iorney L v I 55 Patented June 18, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to a hat protector for use by cleaners, haberdasheries, retail stores, hat manufacturers and wholesalers. The principal object of the invention is a hat protector which will protect the crown and brim of a hat while being returned from the cleaners or shipped by mail or otherwise, and which can be stamped in one operation from a single piece of paper or cardboard.

Another object of the invention is a hat protector which can be manufactured cheaply, stored easily and assembled with the least effort possible.

Still another object is to provide a hat protector which will more or less yieldably support one or more hats to prevent the crown or edges of the brim or brims from coming in contact with the edge of the box or container. With these oblects in mind, the invention has taken two or three different forms which, however, all closely resemble one another.

The essential characteristics of the invention will be summarized in the claims. The simplest form of the invention is that illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3; Fig. 1 showing a plan view, Fig. 2 an end view and Fig. 3 a side View. I

A further modification of my hat protector is disclosed in Figs. 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8, in which Fig. 4 is a plan view of the box member, Fig. 5 is a plan view of the top member and crown protector, Fig. 6 a side view of the assembled top member and crown protector, Fig. 7 a perspective view of the top member and crown protector showing a hat therein and Fig. 8 a sectional view through the center showing the box member, top member with crown protector and the hat assembled together.

Referring again to the dravw'ngs in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 the numeral. l represents the base member of my hat protector. This base member I0 is scored along the line H and I2 to form upright members l3 and M respectively which aid in protecting the brim of the hat. 011 one side of the base member [0 is one-half of the crown member designated by the numeral 15. This half of the crown member is as shown attached to the base member 10 by a securing member [6 which is integral both with the base member 10 and the part of the crown member 15, this half of the crown member has one or more slots designated in the drawings by the numerals I! and I8 and the other side of this crown member has a locking member H9. The other half of the crown member 20 is shown in Fig. 1 on the other side of the base member Ill. This is made integral with the base member It by means of the securing member 2|. This half of the crown member also has one or more slots designated 22 and 23 on one side; and on the other side locking member 24 which is adapted to fit into either slot I! or I8 according to the size of the crown of the hat. As shown in Fig. 1 both the base member and the crown member are made of a single sheet of cardboard or similar material of sufficient thickness to support a hat. The plan view Fig. 1, also clearly illustrates how this hat protector can be stamped in one easy operation by setting the knives so that you out along the lines in full and score the dotted lines.

Of course it can be readily seen from the drawings, Figs. 1, 2 and 3 that the locking members 19 and 24 could both be placed on the same half 15 of the crown member and the slot members l1, i8, 22 and. 23 would then necessarily be on the other half of the crown member. One may use one, two, three or more slots and thus regulate the circumference of the crown member to fit different hat sizes, but I have found in practice that two is sufficient for adequate protection of all size hats. The dimensions of the hat protector shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 can easily be determined by the drawings. I have found that in practice, the base member should be substantially 12 by 13 inches; that the width of the crown member I5 and 20 should be approximately 5 to 6 inches so that when assembled as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, it will be high enough to protect the crown of any hat. The securing members-l6 and 2| may of course, be of any width and may be cut up into the crown member and to any convenient depth. In practice I use a securing member which is substantially three inches wide and cutting the same for a distance of about three inches into the crown member. The most simple method of assembling the unit is to place a hat approximately in the center of the base member In, 'then take one of the locking members of one of the crown members and insert it in the slot in the opposite crown member. This operation is repeated with the other locking member and the hat protector is assembled with the hat inside as shown by the dotted lines in 45 Fig. 3, the brim of the hat being represented by numeral and the crown by the numeral 26.

The embodiment of my hat protector disclosed in Figs. 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 comprises a box member 40 having side pieces 4| and 42, and end members 43 and 44. The corners of the box may be locked in any satisfactory method in use today among box manufacturers; one method of which is disclosed in Fig. 4 comprising locking members 45, 46, 4! and 48 which are inserted in slots 49, 50,

" arm member 61.

5| and 52 respectively. The ends of the box member may have two tabs 53 and 54 out along the full lines and scored along the dotted lines.

A plan view of the. top of the box is disclosed in Fig. 5 wherein 55 designates the top member with sides 58 and 5'! which are scored along the dotted lines 58 and 59 together with end members 60 and 6! which are scored along the dotted lines 62 and 63 respectively. The end member 69 is extended forming one-half the crown member 64 which is secured to the end member by the arm member 65. The end member 6| is extended forming the other half of the crown member 63, this half being secured to the end member by the The two halves of the crown member can be locked together by any suitable device. The one I disclose works very well in practice and simply consists of locking members 13 and 58 which are inserted in slots 69 and I0, or H and T2 according to the size of the hat desired to be protected. The sides 55 and 51 are locked to the ends 69 and 6! in any suitable manner. One of the most practical probably is by he use of locking members and slots as disclosed.

Fig. 7 showing a perspective of the top member 55 assembled with a hat placed therein, clearly shows how the sides and ends of the top member protect the brim of the hat designated by numeral i i and also shows how the crown mom'- ber protects the crown of the hat shown. at '15.

It is believed that the assembly of these units can be easily ascertained from the drawings and from the description with reference to my other modifications disclosed above. It can readily be seen that the top member alone may be used as a hat protector inserting the top members into a shopping bag or box as desired or if preferred 1e top member may be inverted and placed in the box member All as disclosed in Fig. 8. This figure shows how the tab member 54 may be placed on tthe outside of the top member and some means used to secure top member with the box member or if desired the tab member may be placed inside the box as disclosed in Fig. 8 by the tab 53.

Thus it will be seen that I have disclosed a number of difierent hat protectors which can. be manufactured by the simple method of cutting base member and crown member from a single piece of cardboard or other suitable material, the crown member and base member being in one piece, after cutting.

It will also be seen by looking at the plan views of the different embodiments of my invention that in each case there is very little cardboard wasted by the cutting operation, and that they all can be easily folded to store away in a small place and can be assembled with one or two simple operations.

As stated before, the preferred material which I use for my hat protector is made of cardboard of suitable strength and rigidity to hold a hat.

Of course, other materials may be substituted such as leather, Bristol board, pressboard, pulp products or the like.

It is also obvious that the manufacture is extremely simple for both the crown protector and the brim protector may be punched and scored by one single operation and from one piece of material for both the brim protector and crown protector are of one piece. This also aids in storing for use and in assembling the protector.

What I claim as new is as follows:

1. A one-piece hat protector adapted to be stamped in one operation from a single piece of material. comprising a base member, four side members integral with said base member, two of said side members having a part of a crown member integral therewith means for securing said crown member together to enclose the crown of a hat, the whole protector being adapted to fit over the top of a box and serve as the cover thereof.

2. A hat protector adapted to be stamped in one operation from a single piece of material comprising a base member adapted to support a hat, two securing members extending out from opposite sides of said base member and being integral therewith, said securing members being narrower than the side of the base member from which they extend, two or more crown members of suihcient length to surround the crown of a hat when secured together, said crown members being integral with the securing members at a point within the borders of the crown members so that when a hat is placed on the base member, the securing members will extend above the brim of the hat to support the crown members around the crown and above the brim and from contact with said brim to thus hold the hat from any lateral displacement with reference to the base member regardless of the position in which the protector is held.

MAX H. FRIEDLER. 

